mt super bus

[dannnnn]

so a friend of mine was planning to climb killamanjaro for her 30th but unfortunately budget constraints put an end to it for her.

as a consolation i suggested we climb SEQ's talled instead - mt superbus.

i have found a pretty good guide here

http://www.southee.com/Bushwalking/Main ... l#label079

unfortunately it seems a little old. has anyone climbed it recently and do you have anything to report?

[isoma]

I must have been up or down that track about a dozen times and those were the notes I used for my first trip. Haven't been up for 4 or 5 years now, but cant imagine it would be too different. Just follow the old fence line up to the shoulder of Superbus and turn left. You'll need map, compass and probably GPS if you want to find the actual summit - there are a few cairns up there on the various peaks (north,south, etc.).No views either. To make more of a trip out of it you could continue on to the Lincoln Bomber wreck, but would need solid off-track experience for this one. Alternatively, when you hit the shoulder you could turn right instead of left and head out to Lizard Point - no real navigation issues and excellent views.
Having said all that ... I'd just go to Barney instead.

[DaveGwy]

I concur with isoma. Would probably be 4 or 5 years since I was up there. We walked from Teviot Gap, along the fire trail then straight up onto the plateau along the rabbit fence. From there, there was a rough trail to a knoll, and then another 20 mins to the Supurbus summit. There was some navigation needed - In the flat areas, the rainforest is pretty thick, so following the trail is hard. That said, the navigation should be fairly OK - just try and stay on your bearing, or you'll either end up in the Condomine gorge or Emu Ck gorge. IIRC near the bottom there was a few parts where you could possibly get lost as well, the rainforest being pretty thick. It would also get dark early in winter (in the rainforest)!!

I also second isoma's suggestion of Mt Barney - Peasant's ridge is very well worn, and there is only 2 bits that require scrambling near heights (not as bad as it sounds). If you were a bit more confident, you could think about going up to Wilson's Pk from the carpark at Teviot Gap. It's a nice climb to views (which you don't get at supurbus) and I think you follow the rabbit fence for most of the climb.

[dannnnn]

thanks for the suggestions of barney but we are already going to queen mary falls over easter so it'll be nearby.. plus we have already done barney. i understand this is not so scenic - we are just doing it for a laugh. i've ordered the superbus topo map so we'll have a look. thanks for all your advice so far

[scockburn]

Great resource Dan... Thanks for info. By the way , an expert told me recently that the grid reference for Mt Superbus on most of the maps etc in SEQ is wrong . Off by several 100 mtrs . Not a big problem but interesting. SteveC

[dannnnn]

i got the map on thursday and have noticed that steve... the grids on the southee.com website do not line up with my mt superbus topo map at all!! i will have a look in my 'take a walk' book and see if it is any better... frustrating!

[DaveGwy]

Hm, from memory, I think all the grid refs in that book are off - I think they're all on AGD66.

[shardie]

So dannnnn, the Q on everyone's lips is "did u do the climb?"
I am new to this site and can share the story of a recent trip to Mt Superbus but it may be too little too late if you have already climbed.
Shawn

[isoma]

come on shardie ... tell us anyway

[shardie]

well......you know how major mishaps can be tracked back to a series of minor poor decisions or events, that is so true with our trip to Superbus late last year. 1.Changed plans mid-walk without informing the loved ones; 2.GPS failure due to overhead coverage; 3.track notes too old to be accurate; 4.misjudging walking times; 5. thinking someone else was bringing the compass; 6.way too many stinging plants; 7. too close for comfort snake encounter and 8.seven hours into it & we are geographically misplaced and posing the question "what would Bear Grylls do?"
Not our most finest moment but did provide content for camp fire conversatons for a good while to come.

[cams]

I tried to get into near this area on the weekend to head up The Steamers onto the range. Wasn't game enough to get past all the creek crossings in a 2wd in the end. They just kept getting bigger, and with rain forecast for Sunday I didn't want to get stuck even if we did make it in. Was really looking forward to it.

Yep, lets hear it Shawn. The more stories the better.

[Peter C]

I can relate a little adventure here. A mate and myself did Superbus yesterday, we went up the Bomber Track, past the wreck and continued on to the peak, we somehow (still trying to post-mortem) managed to go west from the main peak instead of east toward Mt. Roberts as planned. Reached a point were the fall of the land didnt match our predicted position, and sat around scratching our head for 15 minutes or so. After some discussion we decided if we continued west we would eventually end up in the Emu Creek catchment area and be able to find our way out. Managed to find a tree to climb after a little bit, and from there spotted the Steamers, and deduced our position from that landmark. We were on the ridge that runs West/NWest from the main Superbus peak. We followed the cliffs south from there, found a creek and dropped down it and were treated to a gorgeous creek walk, albeit with some tricky waterfall by-passes to walk out. Both of us are reasonably experienced and fit, so its a little embarrasing to admit that you were spacially mis-placed, however it was a good little wake-up call to pay attention especially when its in unfamiliar country, even when you 'think' the route is fairly straight forward!

[kbm63]

Has anybody attempted walking to Superbus from the west lately. What is the road like and the track up to the bomber like ? Any updates would be good. Maybe planning a walk around the 21 September and it been a while since i have done it.

[ofuros]

Another walk on my to do list....plane crash site to Mt Superbus...across to Mt Roberts.....around to Lizard Point & Steamers lookout,
then drop down to the car park.
Will be interested to see how you go.
I went for a bit of a recon about a month ago, to check the access... river crossings were low, drove my 2WD ute all the way in to the parking/gated area,
then its a short walk over the 4wd section to the track beginning.

I sure someone will pipe in with more recent info. Enjoy your walk, kbm63.

[kbm63]

Thanks for the information , what you propose is a good two day walk ,I did it years ago. I posted a photo of the plane crash on the "Where am I site " a while ago. If I get there I will post some notes.

[Art]

I've done this one three consecutive years, but only in 2011 found the correct path up the creek to the bomber wreck!
Also got my Falcon bogged in a creek and a nice lady that lives in the last house was passing by and towed me out
I don't think this hike would be worth a dime if it weren't for the Bomber wreck to add something interesting.

[gbagua]

I've done this one three consecutive years, but only in 2011 found the correct path up the creek to the bomber wreck!

Yes, there is a metal arrow pinned onto a tree once you follow the track (it turns right alongside Mt Superbus) after crossing the main creek once you cross the main forestry area. Once you see that metal arrow face the mountain which is on your left-hand side and climb up following a straight line for about 150m. You should come across the wreck. There is not track on that section just scrambling on lose terrain. If you see a rock boulder after climbing for 100m better negotiate it from its left-hand side (ignore the pink/orange ribbons at this point because they have been deliberately place in the wrong direction...some "clown" is trying to protect the wreck).

Note: the ribbons have been moved from their original location in one section the forestry area as well...we got lost for about 2h as a result.

[GeorgeKefford]

Hey Guys,

I'm planning an expedition to walk from Mt Superbus to the Pacific Coast. I'm 14 years old, but I have decent bushwalking experience. I've been reading this forum and it seems that summiting Mt Superbus is a bit of a navigational challenge. One that my mother will not let me do.

I'm looking for someone who has summited (preferably on multiple occasions) to either be a guide for me or to email me with detailed experience on the track. I also need someone it's good bushwalking experience in all of the Gold Coast hinterland.

Please also check out my website whilst you're at it. www.georgekefford1.wix.com/home

I'm sponsored by Osprey Packs, one of the best rucksack manufacturers in the world, if you choose to walk with me, I should be able to get you a pack of your choice for free.

Please email me if you are interested in guiding me. georgekefford1@gmail.com

Cheers,

George

[Art]

Hi, I can’t offer a hiking mate with my current fitness, but a personal log to the Lincoln if you like:

“Charlie’s Pike” literally means my hiking buddy was too clapped out to complete it, so I left him there and met him again on the way down.
I can email it if you have a GPS that can use the track data, and you could easily continue the walk to the peak.
It’s a fairly low risk walk if you find the creek line whether it’s running or not, and stick to that all the way up.
You should have found the creek line around where this track turns brown.
I did make a trip there once, and never found the wreck, or on a correct track any of the time!
Just went up a certain distance through awful scrub, and back down again.

Last time I went I think was 2009. This pic of the wreck is definitely 2009:


You need a reliable 4WD to even get to the Emu Crk campsite, and it doesn’t take much rain to make the drive in/out near impossible.
Unless you’re particularly interested in the wreck, or whatever land beyond that, I don’t rate the nature walk for Superbus highly at all.

[JonASid]

Hello people. A friend and I recently went up Mt Superbus (on the West side) in early March 2016 and here my notes from the trip:

Things to Bring
1. Long Pants, long sleeve shirt and gloves (MUST HAVE, lots of stinging nettles and spiky stuff which will cut you up real bad without)
2. A compass (GPS will not work in some places)
3. A topographical map (available on QTOPO - type that into google)
4. A phone with a good offline maps app (recommend Locus Maps on Google Store)
5. Sufficient water (the two of us brought 13L and had 6L to spare upon return)

Timeline from our climb
1. Left Sunnybank in Brisbane at 0715
2. Arrived at start of Emu Creek Rd 0915
3. Arrived at South Branch 'car park' at 1100
4. Arrived creek prior to ascent on Mt Superbus, visible on QTOPO map at 1645 (we got lost on Bald Mountain for a few hours)
5. Arrived main wreckage ~1900 (the wreck is strewn across the mountain)
6. Arrived South Summit camp 1930
7. On return, took 4 hours to get from South Summit camp to South Branch car park (going along the track the whole way) including 2 hours just to descend from the camp site to the creek marked on the map just before the main ascent

Notes from Route
1. Encountered 3 gates along Emu Creek Rd and 5 creek crossings with water about 30-45cm deep (3 more without water)
2. Prior to reaching the fork marked at the end of Emu Creek Rd, there is a road which is not marked which forks off to the right, uphill, this is not the right road as marked on the map, and leads off in the wrong direction. The correct route is to keep left until you reach the next fork, a right turn from which leads to South Branch (GPS will verify where to go!)
3. The track starts from the South Branch car park where a National Park sign is and a gate is. A road leads from the gate which might be the old forestry track described. Follow that road only a few hundred hundred metres. The road continues up a right turn, however this does not lead to the track. We made the mistake of following this road all the way. This will lead to the wrong route which is marked by ribbons and confusing arrows which leads to Bald Mountain, and which terminates half way up Bald Mountain. The correct route is to continue straight into the bush when the road turns right up hill. A pink ribbon should be seen from the road which marks the way. A GPS will verify where the track begins.
4. The track is marked by ribbons and tape from the start all the way to the South Summit. The colours are mainly red, orange and pink, although some are yellow and white. At some points the track is lost, and navigation using a GPS from a phone is necessary to go around or through bush until you re-find the track further along.
5. The route is separated into a few different phases starting with the bushland track at the start, going up through a clearing at one point to a grassy area where snakes live (and were sighted) up to a section which is more traditionally rainforest, and terminates at a creek marked on the map which indicates the end of the easy going section. From that creek onwards, the track is uphill the whole way. The trek up the last 200-300m of altitude is extremely steep, and will take 2-3hours with a pack on. This uphill section is easy to find as it follows a creek line virtually the whole way

The most important part of the route is at the start, as once you find the track marked by ribbons you are on track. The problem is that the old forestry trail leads up to Bald Mountain, and its own ribbons which ultimately lead no where. If you find yourself on Bald Mountain, it is possible to rejoin the track by going down a steep incline, however the vegetation is thick in most areas. We made our way back to the track by finding a creek line which went all the way back to the track.

Overall, it was a great climb, lots of wreckage, good camp site and very challenging! Takes about 9 hours return with packs on for camping, and 7 hours if you know where your going. Expect to take longer if you get lost, as it took us 8 hours to go from South Branch to the summit with our inadvertent detour along Bald Mountain.

[JLemur]

Hello people. A friend and I recently went up Mt Superbus (on the West side) in early March 2016 and here my notes from the trip.

Awesome notes. Quick one for you. We went to do some recon on the very wet Monday we had but after the fourth creek crossing we hit a Private Property sign on a fence on Emu Creek Road, do you progress through and take the right fork to get to the start point you described?